Crews Bank & Trust Makes New $1.60 Million Investment in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 1,564 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $1,603,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of BlackRock in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. purchased a new stake in BlackRock in the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. West Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in BlackRock during the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of BlackRock by 100.0% in the third quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 40 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Trading Up 0.2 %

BLK stock opened at $1,053.50 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $163.17 billion, a PE ratio of 25.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.28. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $1,024.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $958.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 5.23 and a current ratio of 5.23. BlackRock, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $745.55 and a fifty-two week high of $1,082.45.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.52 by $0.41. BlackRock had a net margin of 31.21% and a return on equity of 16.32%. The firm had revenue of $5.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.57 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $9.66 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $5.21 per share. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.98%. This is an increase from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. BlackRock’s payout ratio is currently 48.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on BLK shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $960.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on BlackRock from $914.00 to $971.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Citigroup increased their target price on BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Barclays lowered their price target on BlackRock from $1,220.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on BlackRock from $1,017.00 to $1,045.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,120.67.

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In related news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,010.00, for a total transaction of $10,100,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 68,433 shares in the company, valued at $69,117,330. The trade was a 12.75 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,046.03, for a total value of $56,485,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 41,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,845,393.48. The trade was a 56.30 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 100,190 shares of company stock worth $104,436,741. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Company Profile

BlackRock, Inc is a publicly owned investment manager. The firm primarily provides its services to institutional, intermediary, and individual investors including corporate, public, union, and industry pension plans, insurance companies, third-party mutual funds, endowments, public institutions, governments, foundations, charities, sovereign wealth funds, corporations, official institutions, and banks.